THE LIBERATING SECRET OF CHRIST

Secret Hidden In Christ

THE LIBERATING SECRET OF CHRIST. Oh, thank God there is a Liberating Secret hidden in Christ. Well, that shouldn’t be new to us because the scriptures say that in Christ we are hidden. Colossians 3:1-4, " If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth, For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory." Our very life is hidden with Christ in God! Now this is a Liberating Secret when the Holy Spirit begins to open the eyes of our understanding to the Work that God has done in Christ, and begins to reveal that Work in you and I. So much so, as it were, to bring God from the outside to the inside, and bring us to an understanding that God is, by His Spirit in us; and we are, by His Spirit in Him. So there is this Liberating Secret.

John 14:20 – At that day you will know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.

Liberating Secret of His Glory

We have discussed three parts of this Secret: The Liberating Secret of The Cross, then The Liberating Secret of His Appearing, then The Liberating Secret of His Name, and now I want to discuss with you The Liberating Secret of His Glory. In each of these studies I have used a different diagram, and now I am going to use one that we have already used, but in a little different pattern, because now our whole theme concerns the Truth of the believer being IN CHRIST. The Believer being IN Christ. Now this has to do with the Glory of God, and the word "Glory" will be our theme. And I trust the Spirit of The Lord will help us to see Glory as it really is, and understand what Glory is all about. Most Believers do not understand what Glory is all about. Now in our lesson we are going to see, not a Believer: we are going to see Believers. We are going to see, not a member; but we are going to see many members, many members in Christ Jesus who are to be, and in fact are predestinated of God to be the manifestation of His Glory. This is the thing that we are looking at.

Romans 8:29,30 – For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called; and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.

All Spiritual Blessings In Christ

Now Ephesians 1:3-14. So let us look at it and see what the Lord would speak to our hearts. "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us…"I want you to notice this term "HATH" blessed us: not ‘is going to’, not ‘who should’; not ‘who did’, but who HATH. "…who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings…" How many of you know now that " In Christ dwelleth all the fulness of the godhead bodily"? (Colossians 2:9) Where does that dwell? IN CHRIST! "In (Christ) are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge." (Colossians 2:3) "It pleased the Father that in Him should all fulness dwell." (Colossians 1:19) Oh Believer, you and I must come to understand that God hath made us partakers of ALL – IN CHRIST, that He hath placed in Christ. We must understand that everything that He hath done in Christ, He hath done on our account. What need hath He to do anything – period, if it were not for us? What is the need that God finds in Himself? All that He hath done, all that He hath accomplished, all the cost of The Cross, all the reality of Resurrection, all of the glories of the Ascension of Christ; everything that The Father hath placed in The Son, planned in The Son, and performed in The Son, He has done that on our behalf. That in the doing of it, He may bring you and I, who are in Christ into a relationship with Himself, into a union with Himself, into a fellowship with Himself through the fulness of The Lord Jesus Christ. Now, there is much in this verse then, because it says, " …who hath blessed us…" Oh, but not who hath blessed us off out here somewhere, as it were in our own life. The center is NOT "us". The Truth here does NOT center about us. We are partakers of The Truth in this instance, but The Truth centers in heavenly places IN CHRIST. The Truth centers IN CHRIST. Where are the blessings of God? IN CHRIST. That is where they are. That is where God hath blessed us.

Colossians 1:16-18 - … all things were created by him, and for him; And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.

Father, Open Our Eyes

Oh Beloved, we get out here as it were, picturing ourselves still in Adam (#1), or still in the old creation, and we begin to cry, ‘Oh God, give me a blessing, Oh God, send your blessing. Oh, if you cannot send a flood, just send me a shower, just send me something.’ Our prayer should not be for ‘God sending me a blessing’, but to ‘open my eyes to what You have done in Christ.’ Not, ‘God send me a blessing’, but ‘open my eyes to the fulness of God in Christ.’ But it is here (#2) – IN CHRIST, where God hath blessed us with all spiritual blessing, with all spiritual fulness. ‘Father of glory, open my eyes that I may see what You have done in Christ Jesus; that I do not go through life blind, stumbling around, just trying to live by feelings, but that the eyes of my understanding be enlightened, and that I begin to look and search out the height, and length and depth; and begin to know what God hath done in Christ. Then begin to live right where I am; just as I am in Christ Jesus.’ That we would not so much be looking for a blessing, but rather manifesting a blessing; not so much looking to be blessed, as looking to bless. Not so much looking to get, but looking to give. Why, we have all spiritual fulness, all spiritual blessings! It is because we are shut off by our own natural understanding to this fulness in Christ, that we are out here in the realm of utter darkness, looking for something. We are out here continually wanting somebody to bless me, somebody to help me. ‘God help me. God bless me.’ All of our prayer life is wrapped up in that. ‘Lord, we need a blessing.’ No! We need our eyes open TO the blessing. That is what we need. ‘God, open my eyes that I may see Jesus. Lord, open the eyes of my understanding that I may be a partaker of all that is in Christ; and then in the earth BE a blessing, in the earth be a gift, in the earth be an offering, in the earth MANIFEST all that is in Christ Jesus.’

Ephesians 1:17,18 – That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him; The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints.

Ephesians 3:17-19 – That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height, And to know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.

2 Corinthians 2:14 – Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place.

Manifesting A Blessing

Instead of acting like we are pilgrims and strangers and paupers, just wandering around in this world looking for a home; we must come to understand that WE ARE IN CHRIST JESUS. Then we must begin to live out from there. I don’t care where you may be on this earth: wherever you find yourself, you are IN CHRUST. You cannot travel in the world and get out of Him. Wherever you are – you are IN HIM. Paul understood this. Whether in a friend’s house or in jail, or in a shipwreck, or beaten or stoned, or among enemies or among the Church: wherever he was, this man knew, ‘wherever I am, I am in Christ’. So, his letters are not the letters of a prisoner of Rome, but a prisoner of The Lord Jesus Christ. Paul was not a servant of Rome, but the servant of The Lord Jesus Christ. Not one who is writing to you out of the belly of the catacombs, but one who is writing to you from Heavenly Places in Christ Jesus! He is declaring to the Church: ‘Every one of you are right where I am.’ ‘But Paul, we are not in jail.’ ‘Neither am I. I AM IN CHRIST JESUS. This is a temporary circumstance. I am in Christ Jesus. When the circumstance is good, I am in Christ Jesus. When the circumstances are bad, I am in Christ Jesus.’ This is not so to the believer who sees himself in Adam (in the old creation). The Truth is not in him. So, when the circumstances are good, he is hoping that they will get better. He is continually controlled by the circumstances. God is a good God if nothing ever happens to me. God is a good God if I never have to go through a test or a trial. God is a good God if I can always with my natural eyes see something that I think is God. But to this Believer here (#2) who has understanding of his union with Christ, circumstances come and go; yet he knows that the whole thing is a passing situation. He knows that his life is hidden with Christ in God. When he lives, he is going to live out from Christ. Wherever he is, he is conscious of the reality that ‘Here I am IN Christ Jesus. I will never magnify the circumstance. Whether it is a good circumstance or a bad one. I have learned not to magnify good circumstances; I have learned not to magnify bad circumstances. I have learned to magnify THE LORD! No, magnify The Lord with me!’ Let us be a manifestation of where we are – IN CHRIST.

Ephesians 2:19 – Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God.

Philippians 4:11-13 – Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound; every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

Philippians 1:1 – Paul and Timotheus, the servants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi, with the bishops and deacons.

Colossians 3:3 – For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.

Psalm 34:3 – O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together.

1 Peter 2:9 – But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light.

Predestined

This is part of The Liberating Secret of Glory. A lot of us think that predestination is a bad word. I used to think it was a bad word, but it kept popping up so much in the Scriptures, I thought it must not be too bad since it is written right here. It is just the understanding we have in many cases, that is bad. Predestination is a tremendous thing. Every one of these Believers (#2) are predestined. If you can put your name on any one of these circles, then you are predestined. This brother who sees himself out here in Adam, in outer darkness (#1) is not too sure about predestination, because all he is seeing is in the natural, here in the world. And he can not figure out how predestination had anything to do with this or with that, because he does not know where he is. In our thinking, most of us try to understand predestination in the old realm (#1) but it will not fit in that realm. It only fits in Christ (#2). Let us look at it here IN CHRIST.

Ephesians 1:5,11 – Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will… In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will.

According

Now I have told you about all this, and spent all this time on verse 3 because everything from verse 4 to verse 14 is under the word "according"; and it all points back to the truth of verse 3, " …that God hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ." Everything else points back to the Truth that we are in Christ – everything! Look at verse 4, "According as He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love."

The Center

Now I want you to understand something. Again, The Truth here is not on us. You have to take this scripture by scripture. Look at verse 3, " …who hath blessed us…" I told you that "us" is not the center of the Truth there. "Who hath blessed us IN CHRIST." "In Christ" is the center there. Where are we blessed? IN CHRIST! Are we blessed out of Him? No sir; you are blessed IN CHRIST. So the center of that Truth is not just us: it is us IN Christ. Verse 4 says, "according". Everything down the line is going to point back, not to US as the center, but to CHRIST as the center, and to us only in as much as we are a participant and a partaker of that of which Christ is the center. And He is not only the center of it, He is fulness of it too. That is why the scripture says, " Christ all, and in all." (Colossians 3:11) He is the center and the circumference of this wheel within a wheel. Verse 4, "According as He hath chosen us before the foundation of the world…" Now that is a dangerous reading. You have LEFT OUT the center. And many today, in their understanding do just that. They leave out the center. ‘I am saved.’ From what? ‘Well, I am saved from sin.’ They leave out the center. The center of Salvation is NOT that I am saved from sin, but that Christ lives in me. But they leave the center out, and they put themselves in the center. "He hath chosen us…" No, "He hath chosen us IN HIM…" That is the Truth. " … before the foundation of the world."

Ezekiel 1:16 – The appearance of the wheels and their work was like unto the colour of a beryl: and they four had one likeness: and their appearance and their work was as it were a wheel in the middle of a wheel.

Colossians 1:18 – And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.

Chosen In Christ

Well, what is the difference here? He has NOT chosen "us", as though we were not in Christ. He did NOT choose us "to be" in Christ. Because if, before the foundation of the world, He chose you to be in Christ; then that means that He chose some not to be in Christ. And we know that, "Whosoever will may come." We know that He died for all and His Will is that none should be lost. What He did before the foundation of the world, since He is an all knowing God was - He looked to the very end of time, He looked to the very end of age, He looked from the beginning to the end. He chose to present all things to Himself in the Person of His Son. Which means He has chosen nothing outside of Christ, so that if you are to be one of the chosen, you must be in Christ Jesus; because outside of Him, you are NOT chosen of God. You are chosen only in Christ. That is where He chooses you. He calls you while you are yet in sin. The Holy Spirit woos you and comes to you. He does that while you are yet in sin. He calls you into Christ, where He has chosen you – IN CHRIST.

John 1:12 – But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.

Acts 2:21 – And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

2 Peter 3:9 – The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

Hebrews 1:2 – Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds.

The Place God Has Chosen

The whole emphasis here is not on us. The emphasis is on the place where God hath chosen you. Before the foundation of the world, He looked into Christ. He saw all that is in Christ, all that would ever be in Christ, and in Christ He chose them unto Himself. That means that He chooses you no place else. If you are going to be the chosen of God, then you must be IN CHRIST. Someone says, ‘Oh now, you know that God just loves everybody; and that He is the Father of us all.’ No sir, bless your heart! He is the Father of those who are in Christ Jesus. The devil is the father of those who are not. The love of God is extended to all, but it is enjoyed only by those who are in Christ Jesus. Here is the love wherewith He hath loved us. Here is the love that He has called us into. But you see, "Many are called…" Which means all are called, but few there be, "few are chosen." Because few actually come. (Matthew 20:16) But when they come, they find themselves chosen of God. The find themselves in Christ, chosen of God. They find that they have been placed by The Holy Spirit right where God saw them from the beginning. They see that they have been placed in a relation that has been prepared for them by God from the beginning. They have finally come to where God saw them from the beginning. Who may come? Whosoever will, but only those who do come make up the chosen of God; because we are not chosen to come, we are chosen having come. Do not get those two terms mixed up.

Galatians 3:26 – For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.

John 8:44 – Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

Chosen Having Come

You are CALLED to come. ‘Come on to dinner. Everything is ready. Come on, the food is on the table.’ But, who are the ones fed? The ones who sit down at the table and start eating; not just the ones who are called to the table, but those who get there and begin to eat. Jesus says, " Except you eat my flesh and drink my blood, you have no life in you." (John 6:53) It is not just being CALLED to come; it is COMING. And when you do, you are found IN Christ Jesus, and you are one of those that God hath chosen in Christ Jesus: not one of those He chose to be in Christ, but one of those IN Christ. Get hold of this, because the center of this is CHRIST – not you, but Christ. "Having predestinated us unto the adoption of sons by Christ Jesus unto himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of the glory of his grace; through which he hath made us accepted in the beloved." (Ephesians 1:5,6)

God Saw Us In His Son

Oh, there is a glorious Truth here that we ought not to miss. Verse 4 says, "…that we should be holy and without blame before him in love… having made us accepted in the beloved." That is what these verses are telling us. There is a tremendous Truth that I want to show you here. Why is it that you and I had to come by the way of being IN CHRIST? Why is it? Because from before the foundation of the world; before there ever was sin, before man ever was created – God saw us in His Son. From the beginning, He saw us in His Son. Now, when we come, by the Way of The Cross, we are found to be in His Son, right where He saw us from the beginning. And it is just as though you have never been anywhere else! You are taken out from an old, you are taken out from a fallen, you are taken out from an old creation, you are taken out from a relation; and you are brought into a relationship where God saw you from the beginning, where God chose you from the beginning. And it is just as though you have never been any place else! Therefore, you stand before Him, as the scripture says, "without blame – wholly without blame". You stand before Him just as though you never sinned. You stand before Him just as though you have never been any place else. Oh, the Grace of God! Oh, the Work of Salvation. It is not just forgiving of sins; it is bringing you into a relationship that God has seen from the beginning. It is establishing you in Christ just like you have never been any place else. And when this becomes a reality in your heart, then you understand by The Spirit: ‘My, I am in Christ, just as though I have been here from the beginning. It makes no difference what day I was born or what year I was born. When I was placed in Christ, days and years vanished away. I am here as from the beginning! I am here, where God chose me from the beginning.’ Then you begin to realize there is nothing to go back to, because there is nothing before the beginning! He has brought me into a time that exists only IN CHRIST.

Ephesians 3:11 – According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord.

2 Corinthians 5:17 – Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature; old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

Ephesians 2:8 – For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God.

Time Past - Now

That is the reason Paul is always talking to people about living in times past. The reason it is not times past is that time is gone. He says that there is a place in Christ that is NOW. One Eternal Now. It is this time that God knows. God opens our eyes to this glorious realization of being in Christ NOW. Now and forever goes both directions: it goes to the endless ages, it goes to the ages before and it expands out as from the beginning to the end. You begin to understand that God had brought me up into a NEW time element. I am not someone here in Adam where sin is still remembered and my New Birth is not measured by days or years. Jesus says this in a parable. A man sent laborers out into his field, some of them working all day, some half a day, some just a few minutes. (Matthew 20:1-16) And yet, when they came, he gave them all the same reward. Some of these that had been out there all day said, Wait a minute. This guy was only out there an hour, and he got the same as I did. And the Master said, Did I not agree with you for such and such? Well, yes. And did I not give you such and such? Well, yes. Then take it and keep your mouth shut! It is My business what I give my laborers. You agreed for this, did you not? Is this not a day’s labor to you? Yes. Well, to this one it is an hour’s labor.’ This is the truth that He was trying to show them.

Ephesians 2:2,11,13 – Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience… Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands…But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.

Matthew 20:1-16 – For the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which went out early in the morning to hire labourers into his vineyard. And when he had agreed with the labourers for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard…And when they had received it, they murmured against the goodman of the house, Saying, These last have wrought but one hour, and thou hast made them equal unto us, which have borne the burden and heat of the day. But he answered one of them, and said, Friend, I do thee no wrong: didst not thou agree with me for a penny? Take that thine is, and go thy way: I will give unto this last, even as unto thee.

A New Day

When we come into Christ, we are come into a NEW DAY where time is not measured by hours, but by eternity! Oh, what a joy when the believer understands that. ‘I have only been here an hour, but I am here as from the beginning.’ Another believer has perhaps been here fifty years, but he is here as from the beginning too. What a joy comes from understanding that. Certainly there are differences of maturity and ministry, differences of administration; but we are not talking about ministries and administrations of gift. We are talking about our right standing in Christ. We need to get this understanding, folks. Every local assembly needs to live this way. Certainly there are a few who have been here before others: that had to be. My Lord, if you all got here at the same time! Somebody had to get in the door first. Certainly that is true. And thank God for the faithfulness of those people. But I am telling you that the last one to come in the door is just as great as the first one that came in the door, because The Church should be a manifestation of Life as it is in Christ. Not as it is in some political organization, but as it is in Christ. There is a glorious thing here that The Father hath done to you and I. He has brought us into Christ. The Salvation of Brother Paul is no greater than the Salvation of Brother Luman. Paul lived two thousand years ago; he beat me in Jesus by two thousand years, but we are both in Him as from the beginning. You see, I am not comparing ministries: I am comparing placement; I am comparing Life. I do not know whether we can get hold of that or not, but when we do, I tell you, it will liberate us!

Hebrews 11:39,40 – And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise: God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.

Hebrews 12:1 – Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us.

Now In Christ

I had one poor old lady come to me one time, and she said, ‘Oh Brother Luman, I am just so depressed. I am just so said.’ I said, ‘Well, what is wrong with you? You are born again; Christ is your Life! What is wrong with you?’ She said, ‘Oh, I know that, but I spent half my life in sin. I was almost ready to die before I got saved.’ I said, ‘Wait a minute. NOW you are in Christ!’ ‘Oh, I know that, but…’ she said. And I said, ‘There is not any "but" after that! You are IN CHRIST. Do you understand that up to now you have been measuring your life by man’s years? Up to now, you are either sixty, seventy, eighty years old. But do you know now, that you are not sixty, seventy or eighty? Do you know now that your Life is from the beginning? Do you know that you are in a place NOW as from the beginning? Do you know that you have stepped into Eternity? You are not waiting on it – you have stepped into it! Did you know that He Who is the Beginning and the End is your Life, and you are in Him? And do you know, that when this body goes to dust, your Life has not ended, nor has it just begun? The beginning of your Life and the end of your Life is THE LORD JESUS HIMSELF! It does not have anything to do with this old body whatsoever.’ Get hold of this, saints of God! You are in Christ. And you are there as from the beginning! There is a Liberating Secret to the understanding of this. I am sick and tired of believers going around, condemned over what they used to do, and how long it took them to find Christ. On the other hand, I am getting a little weary of those going around boasting that they have been there for forty-five years, or fifty years, or seventy years. But what is that in the measure of Eternity?

2 Corinthians 5:16 – Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more.

John 1:1 – In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

Revelation 1:8 – I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.

Revelation 21:6 – And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.

Revelation 22:13 – I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.

Hebrews 12:2 – Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith: who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Maturity – Measure of Christ

There is no one who has more respect for the elders, and for the white hair, and for the wisdom – no one. And there is no one on earth that will yield to them in areas of ministry and so forth; but I want to tell you something, folks. When you are in Christ, you are IN CHRIST. And you could have been there fifty years and still be a baby, because maturity is NOT measured by years. Adulthood is not measured by how old you are, or by how many wrinkles you have in your face, or how many gray hairs you have on your head. No sir, but maturity in Christ is only measured by the knowledge of Christ operating in you; and you could have been saved and be in Christ for sixty years, and still be a sixty year old BABY! And someone who has been in Christ five years, yielded to the Holy Spirit, abounding in Him, can be your elder in the Lord. Now I am telling you the truth. We need to begin to understand the Truth as it is in Christ. Yes sir, I thank God for the elders in Israel. My word, I would be a fool not to. I thank God for a mother that prayed every night for me. There were very few nights, if any, that I lay in bed and did not hear my mother praying for me. I am telling you I was born-again when I was six years old, but that did not stop her from praying for me. I was baptized in the Holy Ghost when I was a child, but that did not stop her from praying for me. No sir, I would be out at night and come in, and she would be praying for me. But I am talking about POSITIONAL Truth now. You need to see yourself where you are: IN CHRIST, chosen of God IN CHRIST before the foundation of the world. IN CHRIST! What is there that can touch you when you have been IN CHRIST from before the foundation of the world? If you and I can just take hold of this friends, that when we are placed in Christ, it is as though we have been there forever, because we step into a realm of Eternal Life. We step into a NOW situation. "Beloved, NOW are we the sons of God…" (1 John 3:2) Get hold of this thing! You step out of this world into another world. You step out of a world that is measured by days and weeks and months, into a world that is measured by the very measure of the fulness of Jesus Christ!

Ephesians 4:13,15 – Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ… But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ.

Ephesians 1:4 – According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love.

More Than Conquerors

No wonder Paul could say, ‘What can move us? What can separate us from the Love of Christ? What can pry us away from Him? Can trial, can tribulation, can stress, can persecution, can life, death, things present, things to come? Nay, in all these things, we are more than conquerors.’ Why? Because we understand where we are in Christ Jesus. Yes, there is a need for the believer to grow up in the Lord, but part of his growing up is this realization that I am talking to you about. "He that glorieth, let him not glory in his flesh, but in the Lord." (1 Corinthians 1:31) We are predestined unto glory. Now, He has CALLED us out of sin, CHOSEN YOU in Christ, deals with you just like you have always been there. He does not deal with you like a stranger. He does not deal with you like someone who got there yesterday. He deals with you as HIS SON. He deals with you in the realm of His understanding, seeking to bring you and I into His realm of understanding.

Romans 8:35-39 – Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, for thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

1 Corinthians 13:12 – For now we see through a glass darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.

Predestinated

Thirdly, He has PREDESTINATED you. Now He did not predestinate you to be IN Christ. He called you. He did not choose you to be in Christ. He chose you IN Christ. He did not predestinate you to be in Christ: He predestinated those that He hath called and chosen; those that are IN CHRIST He hath predestinated unto something. There is a purpose for you and me being in Christ. And this purpose is predestinated of the Father. And this purpose is not fulfilled by getting out of sin. It is related to the choosing. In other words, the purpose of Salvation was not just to get you out of sin; because the purpose of Salvation was settled in the heart of God before there was a man to sin. Get a hold of that! God did not create man just so he could sin. That is not why He created man. God had a plan, He has a purpose. Man fell from the Plan, but in Christ we are brought back to His original Plan. His Purpose has not changed. His Purpose is established in Christ. We must see that. If we could look at The Eternal Purpose, we would start here with God in the beginning. Here is what God saw from the beginning. (diagram #3) He saw many sons in Christ. He saw many sons standing in the full image of Christ. He saw many sons as One. That will be another word we will look at as we go along. He saw many sons as One. This is what God saw.

Romans 8:30 – Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.

Ephesians 1:5,11 – Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will…In whom also we having obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will.

Ephesians 3:11 – According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Hebrews 2:10 – For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.

Purpose – A New Man In Christ

Now along the way, Adam fell, and when Adam fell this was disrupted. It was not done away with: it was disrupted. Adam fell, and he fell short of this plan of this glory. God’s answer to man’s failure is THE CROSS. All of this however, is still in view of His Eternal Purpose. So what happens by The Cross? By The Cross ( His death, His burial, His resurrection) the first man is destroyed, and an altogether New Man is raised up in Christ. The purpose then, is still found right here – IN CHRIST. (#4) The purpose is not to get you out of the hole. The purpose has always been to get you IN CHRIST. Bringing you up out of the hole was just a necessary part of the Plan. You see, we want the whole Plan of God to center around us graduating somehow up out of the hole. So we break it up: we are saved, sanctified, and filled with the Holy Ghost, and then we operate gifts, and exercise ministries, etc. It seems to be as if we are climbing up some spiritual ladder. No sir! The Scriptures say, " You are raised up together, made to be seated together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus." (Ephesians 2:6) And all of those terms – Salvation, New Birth, apply to Life IN CHRIST. They are not rungs on some ladder. They do not apply to that. (#5) When you are born again, you were raised up in Christ. (#6) You were put where God saw you from the beginning. Christ is The Purpose. The Purpose does not center around sin; The Purpose centers around what God saw from the beginning – a New Man in Christ! The way was disrupted, but it was not scrapped.

Romans 3:23 – For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.

Hebrews 10:9- Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second.

1 Corinthians 15:21 - For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.

Adoption

So God restores us back to His original intention and purpose. And what is that? It is a predestinated purpose. What is the predestined plan of God? "He hath predestinated us unto the adoption of sons, but Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will." (Ephesians 1:5) What has "adoption" got to do with this? What is adoption anyway? Adoption has to do NOT with getting us in Christ; Adoption has to do with those that are in Christ coming to the understanding that they are now sons of God, and that God is now their Father. And one by one, He brings His children to full age, and He adopts them. He recognizes them as sons. Galatians 4:1-6 talks about this thing of ADOPTION. " Now I say, That the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all. But is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father. Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world: But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father." It says as long as a believer is a child, he differeth nothing from a servant. He is still in bondage to the things of the world, he is in bondage to the things of self. He still differs nothing from a servant: not a servant of God, but a servant of himself; a servant of the world, a servant of this old creation, of carnality. So the Father puts him under tutors and governors. He is a wise Father. The son stays there until the appointed time of the Father. But, when the fulness of the time is come, he sends forth the Spirit of His Son in to the heart of this believer. This is not Salvation, this is ADOPTION. He causes this child to understand that he is a son. How does He do that? He does that by REVEALING THE SON to this child. He does that by revealing Christ in you!

Revealing Christ In You

Now this is The Liberating Secret of His Appearing. He reveals Christ in you; and you begin to understand by the very Spirit of Christ that God is your Father, and that you are indeed His son. You begin to understand I HAVE NO LIFE BUT CHRIST. Then you begin to understand that you are in Christ, and the Father begins to work to bring you unto the fulness of adoption. Now what is the fulness of adoption? Turn to Romans 8:28,29, "We know that all things work together for good…" And the "good" there is this Eternal Plan and Purpose of God. "We know that all things work together for good…" My heart bleeds for the Body of Christ. I see the Body of Christ every day of my life: I see some part of the Body of Christ. And I see them bowed down, I see them defeated; I see them wanting to serve God and now knowing how. Or I see someone lying to them, and telling them that it is all in the flesh, it is all in the world; and that prosperity is having all the things you can get your hands on in the world, instead of coming into the fulness of Christ. Then when a crisis comes, they all react in the same way. I think, ‘Dear Lord, if Your Body would just come to the Truth; if it could just come into the fulness of Christ; if Your Body could just live on the earth as it is in Christ.’ If we could just understand that because I am in Christ, everything that is going on everywhere is working for this Purpose, and is all working for me. It is all working for me. We know that all things are working together for this Eternal Purpose which we are a part of… of the Body of Christ. Ephesians 4:13 – Here is the "till" of the situation. " …till we all – ALL, all come in the unity of THE faith, and of THE knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ; that we be no more henceforth children tossed to and fro and carried about by every wind of doctrine, but speaking the truth in love…" He is talking about the Church growing up in Him right NOW – here IN Christ ON the earth, and beginning to be a manifestation of Him right now here on earth!

Philippians 1:21 – For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

Galatians 2:20 – I am crucified with Christ; nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

3 John 2 –Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.

Predestined Unto Sonship

His Plan is NOT for a house full of babies. You can sit around and do your little ditty and say, ‘Well, He is going to come get me one day’ if you want to, but the Scripture does not teach that. ‘One of these days I am going to be delivered out of my wearisome drudgery way. My Lord, my load is so heavy, and I am stumbling every way; but one of these days He is going to take me out of it all!’ Don’t you count on it! That is NOT the predestined Purpose of the Church. His Plan is for those who know that they are already in Him, and who are growing up in Him, and who understand that this is the predestined Plan of God. That is not suggested of God; it is predestined of God. I am telling you, we had better get hold of this! Why is it that we will preach so hard to the sinner that ‘if you do not repent, you are going to hell’; and yet we will look at mamsy-pamsy, half hearted, back slidden, cold, carnal Christians and say, ‘One of these days God is going to come and take you out of all this, honey. He loves you.’ What are you talking about? ‘That’s all right, God loves you anyhow. The Lord understands all of your fighting and fussing and bickering and carnality. It will all just disappear one of these days.’ No, no! We are predestined unto SONSHIP! The Word of God is coming to those that are in Christ!

The Fulness of Christ

You do not have any business telling the sinner he needs to be saved unless you are growing up into the full stature of the Lord Jesus Christ! Because the purpose of that sinner getting saved, the purpose of New Birth is to come forth in the fulness of Jesus Christ; not just to have a bunch of babies on your hands. God did not design a nursery: He designed a HOUSE FOR SONS! We need to understand that. We are predestined unto glory. We are not predestined out of hell; we are predestined unto glory. Those that are found in Christ are predestined. They are there under a predestined Plan, and that Plan and Purpose is to come into the fulness of Jesus. If you want to get a Gospel, you had better get one that grows you up in Jesus Christ. If you are already in Him, you do not need to be preached out of sin any more. No sir, you need to grow up into Christ! Not only are we predestined unto glory; we are called unto glory. Right here in Romans 8, "…called unto glory…" Now this is a different calling. Verse 30, " Moreover…" You mean there is a "moreover" to this? Yes sir, " Moreover, whom he did predestinate…"

Ephesians 2:19-22 – Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God; And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.

Called To Glorification

Now here we receive a calling that can only be known in Christ. Well, I thought this ‘growing up in Christ’ was the end of it. No, that is the predestined part. There is a purpose for that. Romans 8:30, " Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called; and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified." You see, there is the thing, When you begin to grow up in Him, when you begin to come into a relationship with your Father, then He begins to deal with you as a son. Until this time He is dealing with you as a child, trying to get you to act like a son. But now, you begin to stand in Christ as a son. You begin to say, ‘Praise God, this is what it is all about.’ The Father says, ‘Now I want to talk to you about a calling. Away back over there when you were in sin, I talked to you about a calling. This is a calling that is just for SONS.’ He says, ‘You are called unto justification, and those that are called unto justification are called unto GLORIFICATION.

The Finished Work

What does that mean? Well, we are going to look at it in a little outline. But oh, thank God, He says I am going to show you now, I am going to show you The Finished Work. You are my son and I am going to share My vision with you. I am going to show you The Finished Work. I am going to show you the vocation unto which you are called. I am going to show you the justification that you have received. I am going to show you the glorification, I am going to show you The Finished Work. And I want to tell you folks, once you get a glimpse of that Finished Work, you will not stop short of it for anything! He showed Paul The Finished Work, and every time he spoke to the Church, he declared the Church as it was in Christ. He preached the Church as it was; he preached the Church as One New Man; he preached the Church as One Body; he preached the Church as having no division; he preached the Church as being the fulness of Jesus Christ! Anyone can look around in the flesh and say, ‘I do not know who you are preaching to, Paul. My word, I just had a falling out with that guy over there yesterday. What are you talking about?’ And Paul says, ‘Oh, I am preaching as you are. I have seen The Finished Work. I am setting the goal before you. I am setting the finish line. I will forget that which is behind. I will put it back. I will not talk about it, but I will press on toward the mark of the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. I am not going to stop, and I am not going to let you stop either; because I have seen a Church glorified! I have seen The Finished Work of God in Christ. He has revealed that very Son in me, into whose image we are being brought. I have seen HIM. I have seen Him, and I am not going to lie to you; but rather, I will preach to you the TRUTH as it is IN CHRIST!

Ephesians 4:1, 20,21 – I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called… But ye have not so learned Christ; If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus.

1 Corinthians 1:13 – Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were ye baptized in the name of Paul?

Philippians 3:13-14 – Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

Galatians 1:15,16 – But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb, and called me by his grace, To reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood.

Seeing The Goal

Folks, this is no place to stop, turn around or even think about it! Once you see the goal, you will not stop short of it. It will make a runner out of you. A runner is one who says, ‘Well, I had better take this off, and this is bothering me, and I am going to take that off.’ And somebody says, ‘There is nothing wrong with that.’ ‘Yes, there may not be anything wrong with it, but it is bothering me. I am not going to start preaching against it; I just cannot do it.’ The race gets harder. Thank God! Laying aside every sin that does so easily beset us. Pretty soon, we are stripped down to nothing except Jesus, thank God, and running the race. Little things that used to be all right are not all right any more. I do not jump on you about it; I am just telling you they hinder me in the race. ‘Well, what’s wrong with this? What’s wrong with that?’ ‘Probably nothing, but it is hindering me in the race, so get out of my way. I have got to go! Taking off every sin that doth so easily best us… Called unto glory… Called unto a Finished Work, and I cannot stop short.’

Hebrews 12:1 – Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us.

He Increases – I Decrease

Paul says in 1 Corinthians 1, and he is talking to the brethren; "For ye see your calling, brethren…" That is problem – most of us do not. For you see your calling, brethren, how that you can not look to the might or the nobility of the flesh for your calling. You are not called because you are mighty in the world. You are called because you are weak in the world. Now God does not call weaklings. I am not talking about weaklings; I am not talking about fools. No, but those that are weak in the world. For you see, when I am strong – He is weak. But in my weakness, He is made strong. When I am not – He is glorified; when I am – He is not. There is a law there. In my absence, He is present. There is a law there. When He increases, I decrease. So Paul says you have to see this, brethren. You were not called to become great in the world. You are called to become the fulness of God in Christ. Do not look to the things of the world for your calling. You are not called (you see this, brethren), you were not called because you are noble. You were not called because you have a big name in the world. You were not called because of your ability and because of your talents.

1 Corinthians 1:26-31 – For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: That no flesh should glory in his presence. But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.

2 Corinthians 12:9,10 – And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.

2 Corinthians 13:4 – For though he was crucified through weakness, yet he liveth by the power of God. For we also are weak in him, but we shall live with him by the power of God toward you.

John 3:30 – He must increase, but I must decrease.

But oh, how many people look to these things for their calling. I know a lot of preachers that were put into the pulpit because they have a good singing voice. Your calling is not in your talent, brother. ‘Well, as long as I use it for the Lord.’ You may do that and do it well, but your calling is not in that. You do not look to your flesh for your calling. It is not because you are a noble person. God has chosen the weak things of the world. I do not mean weaklings; I mean that which is weak in the world. God chooses that which is weak in the world, that it may be strong IN CHRIST. God calls wise what the world calls foolish, but it may be the wisdom of God in Christ. I am not talking about a bunch of fools; I am talking about those who are willing to be foolish in the world. The preaching of The Cross is foolishness. The call of God. Well, if we cannot find it in the world, if we cannot find it in the things of our flesh, where do we find the calling of God? "…and the base things of the world, the base things hath God chosen, yea…"(vs. 28) God looked INTO CHRIST, and He chose that which was in Christ. That is the very thing the world despises. That is the very thing the world cannot see; but that is the very thing that God chose.

1 Corinthians 1:18,19,23-25 – For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God. For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent…But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness; But unto them which are called, both Jew and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

Our Calling

Now look at the pitiful situation. God looked in Christ to chose us, but we look outside of Christ for our calling. Isn’t that pitiful? We look to something other than Him for our calling. We look to ourselves, to our education, to our ability, to our talent, to this or that. We look to everything but Jesus for our calling. Listen, God has another calling for us. "Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called…" (Romans 8:30) Now, see

your calling, brethren; that no flesh should glory in His presence. "But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, Who is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption, That, according as it is written, he that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord." (1 Corinthians 1:30,31) If you see your calling brethren, it is not in you. It is IN CHRIST. It is not what you are: it is what Christ has been made unto you. For you see your calling, brethren. Do not look to the greatness of the flesh. Do not look to measure Salvation by any other standard than THE LORD HIMSELF. It isn’t what you are in the flesh. It is what HE is made unto you. See your calling brethren, and then walk worthy of your calling. Ephesians 4:1-6, " I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all."

Walk Worthy Of Your Calling

WALK WORTHY OF YOUR CALLING. I want to tell you something, son of God. Your bickering, your fussing, your fighting, your self righteousness is NOT worthy of your calling! You are called up into Him, in Whom there is One Spirit, One Body, One Lord, One Faith. Church of the Living God – your splits, your disruptions, your divisions are not worthy of your calling. You are not called unto division. God has looked and He has seen only ONE: One Son, One Body, One Glorified Christ. You are called up into Him, Walk worthy of your calling with lowliness of mind; each one putting the other before himself; having the same care; understanding we are bone of bone, and flesh of flesh. Walk worthy of your calling, brethren. For you see your calling: not looking to yourself for your calling, but looking TO CHRIST for your calling. He is made unto you wisdom, He is made unto you righteousness, He is made unto you sanctification, He is made unto you redemption. He is made unto you Spirit and Life. Look unto HIM – that no flesh shall glory in His presence. You are not walking worthy of your calling, Church, when you are divided and going in different directions. You are called unto glory. You are called unto full stature,

1 Corinthians 1:11-13 – For it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you. Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I am of Apollos; and I am of Cephas; and I of Christ. Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were ye baptized in the name of Paul?

Philippians 1:27 – Only let your conversation be as becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel.

Philippians 2:2 – Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.

Ephesians 5:30 – For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.

Not Knowing After The Flesh

Now, what is the hope of that? Is there really hope of us ever reaching that? Not while we are knowing each other in the flesh. I am frank to tell you there is not. Brother, is there any hope of us achieving this? Not while we are looking at each other in the natural. I can just glance out over you and see several things I do not like. If you are honest, you will tell me the same thing. Stop lying. There’s no reason to be a hypocrite! But I do NOT know you I the flesh. I do not care about how you look, where you live, how you sing, if you sing. I have seen you in Christ; I have seen you in Him. There is a judgment that has been made in me. I have seen you right where I have seen myself – IN CHRIST from before the foundation of the world. I do not care when you were saved. If you are saved, you are in Him. I do not care how long you have been there. In the sight of Eternity, you have not been there any longer than I have. I see you in Christ. I am seeing you in Glory. What is the hope of this coming about? What is the assurance of this? Colossians 1:26, " even the mystery which hath been hidden from the ages and from the generations, but NOW is made manifest to his saints." There is a mystery that is just about to be made manifest to the saints of God, that is about to be revealed in the sons of God: THE MYSTERY OF HIS GLORY!

2 Corinthians 5:16 – Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more.

Romans 16:25,26 – Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began, But now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith.

Mystery Revealed

There is a Liberating Secret that is about to be revealed in you, saints. It is as sure as the Predestined Plan of God; it is a sure as the calling of God. There is a mystery that is about to be revealed in you. "To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory." (Colossians 1:27) HE IS THE HOPE OF GLORY. The word "hope" here means the absolute assurance, an expectation based on a guarantee. Who is this thing? It is CHRIST IN YOUI. (#7) It is the assurance of glory. What is going to bring about this oneness of The Body? When Jesus Christ is revealed in every member of The Body, and every member of The Body sees ‘I have no Life but Christ’; when every member of The Body sees, ‘I am The Body of The Lord Jesus Christ.’ The Body of Christ, being ruled by the Mind of Christ, will function as The Body of Christ. HE is the hope! You can stand and preach "be nice to one another, love one another, work together, and cooperate with one another’ until you get lock jaw; but until Christ is revealed in The Body, there is NO oneness, because HE is the Oneness of it. The hope is in seeing Jesus! The hope is having Him revealed in you, because He is the key to the whole mystery.

Colossians 2:19 - And not holding the Head, from which all the body by joints and bands having nourishment ministered, and knit together, increaseth with the increase of God,

Mystery of The Body

Well then, what is this mystery? Ephesians 5:27, " That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself." Now listen to this; this is important. Now, no man every yet hated his own flesh. Here comes The Liberating Secret. NO MAN EVER HATED HIS OWN FLESH. If I am of a sound mind, you will not find me up here stomping on my foot. You will not find me up here gouging my eye. You are not going to find me up here mutilating my body. I love mine. I take care of mine. No man ever yet hated his own flesh. Now, we will not stomp on our foot. I may come down here and stomp on this brother’s foot and feel no pain. I may slap you in the face while I am singing, "Oh, How I Love Jesus", and feel no conviction. But not when the mystery is revealed – I won’t! When Christ begins to be revealed in His Body that won’t happen. Look at this. " For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it…" He takes care of it: he makes sure it is housed, he makes sure it is fed, he makes sure it is educated, he makes sure it is clothed, he makes sure it is well cared for. Why? Because it is his: it is his own flesh. When it hurts – he hurts. When it cries – he cries. When it joys – he joys.

1 Corinthians 12:25-27 – That there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another. And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it. Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.

One Body

There is a mystery over the horizon, saints of God. You are in Christ Jesus. You are His Body. When He is revealed in every member of that Body, those members begin to understand with His Mind that we are members one of another. We are not bodies; we are ONE BODY, "even as the Lord, the Church."(Ephesians 5:29) Look at the next verse, " For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones." Members of HIS Body, HIS Flesh, HIS bone. Oh beloved, it is not "me" and "mine" now. It is HIM and HIS. ‘But I don’t like this one.’ Then it is The Lord you have your problem with. ‘I don’t agree with that.’ Well, that is our problem now; we all have a mind of our own. But when HE, the Hope of this thing is revealed in us, then we begin to see, "I have no Life but in Him, and I am nobody’s body but HIS Body", and I begin to see I am not the only one in Christ. This is a mystery. Look at verse 32, " This is a great mystery; but I speak concerning Christ and the church." This business of Head and Body: Christ and The Church. This business of one member joined to another: Christ and The Church. We are His Flesh. No man ever yet hated his own flesh. We are members together; members of His Flesh, members of His Body. You say, well I love them in the Spirit. That is not good enough! We are flesh of His Flesh and bone of His Bone, and life of His Life, and when this is revealed in us, you and I are going to see that we are called unto a glory. We are called unto and into The Son that God has seen from before the foundation of the world. All of a sudden I begin to go over here and there is a brother that is cast down, and I go over here and restore him. Why? Because he is bone of my bone, and flesh of my flesh, And because until He is restored, The Body is not unto glory.

Ephesians 1:23 – (the church) Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.

All Come To Glory

As long as we think we are in this race by ourselves and we can run over each other and leave our load on someone else’s backs and dust in their face, and get there first … that is not so. It is until we ALL come unto glory. If you are running by a brother, you had better stop and go back and hook your arm under him and say, ‘Come on brother, I cannot make it without you. If I even got there I would have to sit there and wait on you. I cannot enter into perfection without you. We are all called into this thing. Get up and come on. Let us run this race.’ Instead of running by and looking and saying, ‘Look at that dirty, lazy soul’, and just keep on going. No sir! That is my flesh lying there, that is my body lying there. That is HIS flesh, HIS Body. We must understand that we are His Body, His Flesh, His Bones. We are called unto glory. Christ is The Hope and the fulness of that glory.

Ephesians 4:13 – Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.

Hebrews 11:40 – God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.

1 Corinthians 9:24 – Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain.

The Mystery of The Glory

All right. The Mystery of The Glory. Let me bring this to a conclusion with this particular truth. THE MYSTERY OF THE GLORY. Ephesians 3:3-11, "How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words, Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ) which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit; That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the SAME BODY, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel. Whereof I was made a minister according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his power…To make all men see what is the fellowship of this mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ…According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord." What is The Mystery of this Glory? It is not that the Gentiles should be saved: that was no mystery. That was even written in the prophets – that the Gentiles would be saved. The Mystery revolves around what is in verse 6: " …of the same body." Not that they were just to be saved ALSO. We are willing to let anybody be saved "also" Now, this may hurt us a little bit. We are willing to let any old drunk be saved "also"; we are willing that blacks or whites be saved "also", and the yellow and the brown and the red – "also". We will let anybody be saved "also, but this says that THEY ARE ONE WITH ME … I don’t know about that, brother!

John 10:16 – And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.

Isaiah 42:6 – I the Lord have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles.

Isaiah 56:8 – The Lord God which gathereth the outcasts of Israel saith, Yet will I gather others to him, beside those that are gathered unto him.

Isaiah 65:1 – I am sought of them that asked not for me; I am found of them that sought me not; I said, Behold me, behold me, unto a nation that is not called by my name.

Acts 10:45 – And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost.

One Glorified Body

That is The Mystery! It is not that the Gentile is just going to be saved, but "and of the same Body". Here is a Jew, who will not even touch a Gentile. Here is a Jew, who will not even wipe their feet on the Gentile. And Paul is saying, ‘Behold, I show you a mystery. They are not just saved also; they are ONE WITH YOU. They are not just saved also: you are the very SAME BODY! You are the very same flesh, you are the very same blood, you are the very same bones.’ You see, eye does not see that; ear does not hear that. But The Spirit of God, Who is leading you unto glory reveals that, because God did not look down through time; He did not look down to the end and see white and black and brown and yellow. He did not see male and female, bond and free. He just saw ONE GLORIFIED CHIRST, ONE GLORIFIED BODY, ONE GLORIFIED SON! He saw One standing there, the express image of the Father, the increase of the Father’s own loins. He saw One with Whom He could have fellowship throughout the endless ages of Eternity. He saw an increase of His Only Begotten Son. Oh, Church of the Living God – you are in Christ, and you are called unto this Mystery. You are called unto Glory.

Acts 10:34,35 – Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons; But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him.

Acts 11:18 – When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life.

Colossians 3:9-11 – Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him: Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all.

1 Corinthians 1:9 – God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.

1 Corinthians 2:9,10 – But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.

Hebrews 2:10-11 – For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren.

One New Man

I want to tell you something. In here, in Christ we are not all Jews, we are not all Gentiles. There is NOT one Jew or one Gentile. In here there is not a Jew, and there is not a Gentile: there is just ONE NEW MAN! Now, here is the real Mystery and the real Glory: not that we are just one, but ONE WITH CHRIST! His Flesh, His Bones, His Body, and His Person. I told you: He only has One Name. " Thou art My Son, this day have I begotten Thee." (Hebrews 1:5) When that Son begins to appear in you, then we are set free by this Liberating Secret. I am telling you there is a Liberating Secret if we begin to see unto Glory. And we are called unto – not only unto unity, but unto Oneness. If you have One, don’t worry about unity. Well, God has ONE! Now He desires to get that knowledge in many who are One Body in Christ Jesus. Romans 12:5, " We, being many, are one body in Christ." Not one bunch, but One Body in Christ, each one member one of another. One Life and One Body!

Two Made One in His Death

Folks, when He begins to be revealed, there is a liberating. There is a Liberating Secret to this Glory. We are called up unto glory. Ephesians 2:14-18 says something. "For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace; And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby; And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh, For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father." It says here that He has done three things. He has broken down the wall, He has abolished the enmity, and He has slain the enemy. What does that mean? It says that He has taken the Jew and the Gentile, and He has made them both one. How in the world did He do that? Well, He made them one in His Life…. No! He made them one in HIS DEATH! He brought them together in His Own Flesh, in His Own Body, and he slew them by The Cross. Yes, He did NOT teach the Jew how to get along with the Gentile. He killed both of them! He brought them both together at The Cross, and He slew both of them. That is how He tore down the middle wall of partition and got rid of me. As long as I think I have a life of my own, I am at variance with you; but when I understand that both of us only have One Life (Christ), and both of us are only One Body (His Body), there goes the difference! But you see, that is not in us in the natural. That has to be revealed to us by The Spirit, but He took the Jew unto Himself, He took the Gentile unto Himself, and He slew both of them, so making peace. You see, God does not believe in "peace tables". God believes in total, absolute, complete surrender, and He believes in victory. He did not sit down and talk with Adam and say, ‘Now Adam, you ought to be a reformed individual, and learn how to get your house cleaned up.’ No sir, He brought Adam to a death in Himself, and He brought forth One New Son, even The New Man, even The Lord Jesus Christ, Who is at peace with His Father.

Christ Is All

Folks, at The Cross, we died; and now, in His Body it is no longer me. It is "CHRIST in me, the hope of glory." (Colossians 1:27) It is no longer me, "I am crucified with Christ… it is Christ living in me…"(Galatians 2:20) It is not my body, or your body, or John’s body. It is His Body that we are: His Flesh, His bones, His Blood, His Body. When the Mystery ( Christ) is revealed in you: that He is not the Jew, and He is not the Gentile, He is One New Man at peace with God; and if you are at peace with God, then you are at peace with one another. There is only ONE Who is at peace with God – THE NEW MAN, even the Son of Man Who is in Heaven. "For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father." (Ephesians 2:18) (see diagram #8) You find this is Galatians 3:27, 28, "For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female; for ye are all one in Christ." Here in Galatians it says we are all one in Christ, so we say we are all a male, or all a female, or we are all a Jew. No, Colossians 3:9-11 clears that up. "Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all." It says neither/nor, but this doesn’t end by saying we are all one. This tells Who the all, Who The One is: CHRIST IS ALL, CHRIST IS ONE.

Christ’s Body

I told you from the beginning. HE is the circumference and He is The Life. CHRIST is all, and He is in all. If you do it to one, you have done it to Him. I know folks right now who have injured people in the Body of Christ in this town, and go over to another town, and sing in the choir, and sing, ‘Oh, How I love Jesus’, and go right on but there is no judgment in them. If you have injured the Body of Christ in Toledo, Ohio, you have injured the Body of Christ in Seoul, Korea. Why? Because God sees it all in Christ. He saw it before there was an earth, let alone a Seoul, Korea! Do you understand what I am telling you? You do not do something here and go and hide it. That is not the way God works. God sees you in Christ. If you have injured His Body, you have injured His Body. If you have done it unto this brother, you have done it unto every brother; for there is neither/nor. It is Christ all and in all. This is The Liberating Secret.

Matthew 25:40 – And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

Colossians 1:16-18 – For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him; And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.

Glory Is Oneness

In John 17:5 we see the Truth of The Liberating Secret. Jesus says, " And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was." What was that glory? Absolute Oneness, absolute fellowship, unbroken harmony, all of the things that He laid aside when He made Himself of no reputation, when He took upon Himself the form of a servant. He said, ‘Father, glorify Me with the glory that I had before all of that’: the absolute unbroken fellowship, the absolute unbroken Oneness, the absolute unbroken harmony. "…Glorify Me with THYSELF." Why? He says, so that I may give this glory to them; that I may be glorified in them. Do you see what He is saying?’ So this unbroken union, this unbroken harmony, this unbroken fellowship that I have with You may be found in them; that I may give it to them; that I may give My Glory, My Oneness with You to them; that I may be glorified in them.’

Philippians 2:6-8 – Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God; But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men; And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the Cross.

John 17:22-24 – And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me. Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world.

One With Him

Folks, The Body of Christ is for Christ! It is the vessel, the Person in which HE is to be glorified! How is He glorified in it? Not through divisions and strife. He is glorified through its Oneness, you see. Jesus prayed that He might manifest His Oneness with the Father in them. He says, "that they all may be one…" What is the measure of that? "That they may be one as we are One, as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee…I in them, and they in Me, You in Me, We in them…" (John 17:21) Oh, that they may be glorified in Us, that We may be glorified in them. What is the condition? What is The Liberating Secret? It is NOT you and I finding oneness in the flesh. No sir. What is The Liberating Secret? It is this believer knowing that he is one with that believer, just as Christ and The Father are One; but more than that – it is knowing that we are One with HIM. That is The Liberating Secret. ‘ That they may be one, Father AS WE ARE. That they may be in earth as We are in the Heaven. Glorify Me with the glory that I had with Thee in Heaven, that My Body may be a manifestation of that oneness in the earth. That they, Father, may be one even as We are One.’ And why is this? ‘That the world may know Father, not that You have sent them, but that you have sent ME.’

2 Thessalonians 1:10 – When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day.

Folks, you are called UNTO GLORY. There is a Liberating Secret of this Glory. You can continue to look at each other in the flesh if you want to, but you will never fulfil your calling that way. But to see The Body as it is in Christ Jesus; to have Him revealed in us, that we may come into union with Him, and manifest that union one with another; that we may come into the fellowship of The Father and The Son, and be a manifestation of that fellowship in the earth. It is then that He is glorified, and it is then that He will draw all men unto Himself. Amen.

2 Corinthians 5:16 – Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh; yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more.